Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t get us wrong, we know that Nintendo’s original 8-bit portable can create some killer sounds — we’d never sell chiptunes short. That said, you haven’t truly heard Game Boy music until you watch the video above.

Game Boy makes music of a different sort (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The highly-rated HTC Thunderbolt is a powerful phone, but apparently not without its problems. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

HTC’s recently released Thunderbolt smartphone has drawn praise for its powerful hardware and fast network speeds. But hundreds of users are having problems with the phone’s audio playback when using the Thunderbolt’s built-in video camcorder.

Across multiple Android smartphone-dedicated forums, users of the Thunderbolt are reporting almost inaudible sound playback when viewing videos taken with the new phone.

“I was recording my son literally a foot away,” said an Android Forums user in a post. “He was yelling and you can barley [sic] hear it on the video.”

Fortunately for Thunderbolt owners, HTC has acknowledged the issue in the phones and says its working towards resolving the issue, as suggested by an e-mail the company sent to one user:

Due to feedback such as your own, we did some testing here of the issue that you describe. We have in fact escalated these tests to the development team. We cannot say at this time if this is a software or hardware issue. We are working hard to resolve this in a timely manner.

The Thunderbolt is Verizon’s first 4G-smartphone offering on its newly founded LTE network. So far, the phone’s launch has been quite successful. Reports of speed tests on Verizon’s network have been stellar, and the phone itself has supposedly been outselling the iPhone 4 at a number of Verizon retailers.

Glitches are not uncommon with new product launches. The iPhone 4 suffered from widespread reports of dropped calls due to its unusual external antenna design, a problem that culminated in Apple issuing free cases to disgruntled customers.

The EVO 4G had a storage glitch shortly after it launched, which HTC subsequently fixed. And some of earliest versions of Android running on T-Mobile’s G1 had a keyboard bug that sent commands to the phone’s Unix shell.

But if Verizon and HTC are to keep the Thunderbolt’s momentum going, any potential widespread hardware or software problems like the audio issue need to be taken care of.

“I have taken my phone to Verizon and explained,” claimed one user on HTC’s official web site, “tried the 2 demo phones and an employees all with the same result of low audio.”

HTC has not responded to Wired.com’s request for further comment.

See Also:

• HTC ThunderBolt Launches on Verizon's 4G Network With a Bang
• Hands-On With HTC's 4G Thunderbolt Smartphone
• HTC Thunderbolt Outselling iPhone 4 at Verizon Stores, Says Analyst
• Report: Motorola Xoom, HTC Thunderbolt Due This Month

It’s a natural progression, really. Way back in the heyday that was 2008, we saw a fully-functional keyboard worked into a pair of jeans. Three years later, those characters have morphed into something far more raucous. The University of Hull’s own Aseem Mishra has just nabbed an prized engineering award for his recent musical work — specifically, for integrating eight sensors into an otherwise ordinary set of trousers. For now, the wearer has to connect their legs into a speaker-filled backpack in order to be heard, but he’s working on a wireless version that’ll transmit to far larger sound systems. There’s also hope that version 2.0 will include more sensors for more sounds, and if a manufacturer decides to start shoving these into your local Hot Topic, we’re guessing they’ll be available in a rainbow’s worth of hues. Vid’s below for those who’d fancy having a listen themselves.

Continue reading Full-on electric drum kit shoved within a pair of jeans, subway musicians celebrate (video)

Full-on electric drum kit shoved within a pair of jeans, subway musicians celebrate (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may sound patently obvious at this point, but there’s still cause to celebrate — Sony’s streaming subscription music service, Music Unlimited, is headed to both the PlayStation Portable and its pair of divergent spiritual successors the Next Generation Portable and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play. Eurogamer sat down with Sony Network Entertainment VP Shawn Layden, who spread the news readily, confirming that the service would be activated (at least in the UK) on PlayStation Portable “in a matter of weeks.” Meanwhile, Android phones including the infamous PlayStation handset will get Music Unlimited “this year,” and SNE “will make it happen” on the NGP as well, presumably sometime after the company reveals when its beast of a portable game station will actually come out. All in the name of taking your tunes with you wherever you happen to travel — a concept that’s getting rather popular right now.

Sony’s Music Unlimited streaming service coming to NGP, will hit Xperia Play this year and PSP ‘in a matter of weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Active noise cancellation’s the secret sauce that keeps us counting sheep even when surrounded by the cacophony of crying babies and the dull roar of jet engines — though we often find the bulky form factor of those serenity-inducing cans unwieldy. Luckily for us, Pioneer has released its SE-NC31C-K noise-cancellation earbuds that promise to remove 90 percent of ambient noise at the flip of a switch on its AAA battery-powered in-line module — all for around a hundred bucks, which is a far more palatable price than its sound-suppressing brethren from Sennheiser ($320) and Sony ($415). Should you run out of juice, fear not, for you can bypass the noise cancellation features to listen to your tunage as you would with a garden variety set of buds. Given its (relatively) bargain-basement price, we aren’t sure how well Pioneer’s latest nullifies ambient noise, but there’s only one way to find out if they can give the best headset ever made a run for its money. Should you not share our skepticism, hit the source link and grab a pair for yourself.

Pioneer’s SE-NC31C-K noise-cancelling earbuds are cheap, but are they effective? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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